Happily Ever After

57: Hospitals and Dramatic Meetings

There was a beat of silence. "Really?" Sarah asked, a grin spreading across her face. "But don't get any ideas, silly. Now let's get some sleep," Carina insisted, pressing a kiss to her daughter's cheek. It wasn't long before the two tender souls fell asleep, pressed up against one another, not a care in the world.

———

Lucia was thrilled to be able to actually speak to her sister. As promised, Maya dropped the little blonde off early the next day, and they were both surprised to see Sarah awake. "Sissy!" the little blonde screeched. "Hey, buggy," Sarah greeted. Before the bambina could throw herself at her sister, Maya reminded her that she needed to be gentle.

"Are you feeling better?" Lucia asked in worry as she wrapped herself in Sarah's arms, burying her head in her big sister's embrace. The redhead squeezed her sister and rubbed her back encouragingly. "I am. I'm still sleepy but I got lots of rest yesterday," Sarah replied.

"When can we play again?" Lucia begged, already thrusting a doll towards her big sister.

"We can play for a bit now, but I need to be very careful for the next couple of weeks," Sarah explained, and Lucia pouted.

"But, remember you've got lots of aunties and uncles that are more than willing to play games with you, okay?" Carina reassured, and the bambina huffed.

"Fine," she declared, and nudged her sister's arm to get her to continue playing.

While the girls were in their own little world, the blonde turned to her wife. "Did you sleep well?" Maya asked, wrapping Carina in a big hug. The Italian nodded, her eyes twinkling as she touched her wife's cheek.

"Si. I didn't wake up when the nurses came to continue checking on her or when they replaced her saline bag. Our bella was a cuddly little thing last night,"

Maya smiled as she watched her girls. "I'm glad she was. Maybe I can come and switch with you at some point, depending on how long she's here for,"

Carina flashed a thumbs up as she sipped some of the coffee that her wife had graciously brought her.

———

While things looked good, Maggie wanted to keep Sarah for a few days to make sure that the repairs they'd done to the teen's heart were working. Sarah was incredibly bored, having already read all of her books that she had brought. She looked forward to when people came to visit, and when rounds would come through her room, liking when doctors Hayes and Robbins kept their interns on their toes.

The Italian was attempting to start a new hobby; scrapbooking. She had recently ordered a thick book and many envelopes filled with her favourite pictures. Carina had borrowed some of Sarah's coloured pens and was assembling the books which would be stored on the bookshelves in the living room.

"Bambina, which stickers should I use for Lucia's seventh birthday?" Carina asked, tapping Sarah's arm.

The two were sitting side by side on the teen's hospital bed, the Italian's arm intertwined with Sarah's. The redhead hummed to herself before pointing at the ladybug, and then at the cake, followed by a pink heart.

Carina assembled the photos together; one of Lucia blowing out her candles, Prue and Lucia snuggled together on the wheelchair during their walk, the banners they'd made, a group photo...

"That was a fun day," Sarah said with a smile.

"Si, it was. How come in every photo, Lucia has chocolate cake on her face?" Carina complained.

"Look at her smile. Oh, that was when she had just lost one of her front teeth," Sarah giggled. The bambina's smile was an array of growing grownup teeth and baby teeth, and that was around the stage where she had lost two teeth right next to one another.